Comcast Changes Segment Reporting to Align Sky With Connectivity and Content Businesses
Comcast is changing its segment reporting to reflect how it accounts for its European pay TV business Sky, which it acquired in 2018 for around $40 billion.
Beginning with its first quarter 2023 earnings, the NBCUniversal parent in a securities filing on Monday said it will report its Sky-branded entertainment TV channels as part of its connectivity and platform markets segment, which reports on key broadband and wireless businesses.
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And the content and experiences segment, which contains media and entertainment businesses, will report on the Sky Sports channels and Sky-branded film and TV studio production and distribution operations. The media segment contains NBCUniversal’s TV and streaming platforms, and Peacock, Comcast’s flagship streaming service.
The move makes sense because Sky, similar to NBCU, operates networks and streaming offerings and is also a big, and growing, content producer, while at the same time providing connectivity and other technology services, similar to Comcast Cable. Comcast Cable, NBCU and Sky executives have in recent years also touted the increasing amount of cooperation, deeper integration and flow of people, expertise and technology across the three businesses.
In the third quarter of 2022, Comcast recorded non-cash impairment charges of $8.6 billion related to goodwill and intangible assets in its Sky segment to reflect “reduced estimated future cash flows as a result of macroeconomic conditions in Sky’s territories.” The company has had to battle economic headwinds in the U.K. and beyond.
Sky’s revenue for the most recent fourth quarter decreased 13 percent to $4.4 billion, even as Comcast’s earnings and revenue during that quarter beat analyst expectations.
Besides presenting Sky’s results across its connectivity and platforms and content and entertainment segments, Comcast will reflect its cable TV results in its residential connectivity and platforms and business services connectivity segments.
